Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-12
ATTACKED BY GRIZZLIES.
Two Adventures Which Show
that These Bears Are Bad.

that These Bears Are Bad.
Few persons believe that grizzly
bear will attack man before he is
himself attacked. l was one of those
doubling Thomases until two years
ago, when I was thoroughly con-
vinced by ocular demonstration that
some grizzlies at least will attempt to
make a meal off man, even though
he may not have harmed them pre-.
viously.. We were hunting in the
Shoshone Mountains, in Northern
Wyoming. had killed large elk in
the morning, and on going back to the
carcass in the afternoon to skin
it, we saw that Bruin had
been there ahead of us, but had
fed on our approach. Without the
least apprehension of his return we
leaned our rifles against tree about
fifty feet away and commenced work.
There were three of us, but only two
rifles, Mr.. Hoffman, the photographer,
having left his in camp. He had fin
ished taking views af the carcass and
were all busily engaged in skinning,
when, hearing crashing in the brush
and a series of savage roars and
growls, we looked up the hill, and
were Mortified to see three grizzly
bears, an cid female and two cubs
about two-thirds grown, charging upon
us with all the fury of pack of starv-
ing wolves upon a sheepfold.
They were between us and our rifles
when we first saw them, and we sprang
to our horses, which were picketed a
few yards below. supposing, of course,
that when the bears reached the elk
carcass they would proceed to eat it,
and pay no further attention to us.
Strange to say, it was the carcass to
which they paid no attention, They
still came after us; we had no time
for flight, and could not even release
and mount our terror-stricken horses.
Our only chance was to fight for our
lives, and with one accord we all
three grasped our hunting knives and
dashed at them. We threw our hats and
yelled like Comanches, and the
savage brutes, seeing themselves thus
boldly confronted by equal numbers,
stopped, raised on their launches,
growled, snapped their jaws for q few
moments, and then walked sullenly
back up the hill into the brush. This
gave us an opportunity to get hold of
our rifles, and then it was our turn to
charge. To make long story short,
we killed the old female and one cub; ;
the other escaped in the jungle before
we could get a shot at him. The
resolute front we put on alone saved
our lives.
Another instance of q grizzly max
ing unprovoked attack upon u man
was vouched for by man whom |
knew to be strictly truthful. Two
brothers were prospecting in a range
of mountains near the headwaters OF
the Sinking Water river. The younger
of the two, though an able-bodied
man, and capable of doing geod
days work with pick or shovel, was
weak minded, and the elder brother
never allowed him to go any distance
away from camp or their work alone.
He, however, sent him one evening to
the spring, a few rods off, to bring a
kettleful of water. The spring
was in a deep gorge, and the
trail to it wound through some
assures in the rock. As the young
man passed under q shelving rock an
immense old female grizzly that had
taken up temporary quarters there
reached out and struck powerful
blow at his head, but fortunately
could not reach far enough to do him
any serious harm. The blow knocked
his hat off, and her claw caught in his
scalp and laid it open clear across the
top of his head in several ugly gashes.
The force of the blow sent him spin
ming around, and not knowing enough
to be frightened, he attacked her saw
agely with the only weapon he had at
hand-the camp kettle. The older
brother heard the racket, and hastily
catching up his rifle, found his brother
vigorously belaboring the bear over
the head with the camp kettle. and
the bear striking at him savage blows
any one of which, if she could have
reached him, would have torn his
head from his shoulders. Three bull
let's from the rife, fred in rapid sue
cession, loosened her hold upon the
rocks and she tumbled lifelessly into
the trail. The poor idiotic boy coulc
not even then realize the danger
through which he had passed, anC
could only appease his anger by con
tinuing to maui the bear over tn,
head with the camp kettle for severa
,,,,t1 .,ft e,l.